Priceless(36)

Sure, he and Beth were consenting adults. Sure, she’d wanted last night to happen every bit as much as he had. But looking into her eyes this morning, he couldn’t help but conclude that it had really meant something to her. Hell, it had meant something to him, too, but he wasn’t about to acknowledge that to her or to act on it in the future. At the first warning sign that he might become emotionally involved with someone, he generally took off without a backward glance.

In fact, his usual panic was already telling him that if he had half a brain, he’d immediately start making himself scarce around the hospital. He wouldn’t stop seeing Tony, but he was familiar enough with Beth’s routine to avoid running into her. No more casual little drop-ins at her office just to catch a glimpse of her. No more coffee breaks in the cafeteria. No more dinners just to get her away from the hospital for a bit. He was pretty sure she’d gotten the message this morning, but just in case, his actions would reinforce it. That was what he should do, what he always did.

And, he realized with a sinking sensation, if he followed his usual pattern, he would feel like an even worse heel than he felt like right at this moment. He wasn’t sure he had it in him to do the smart thing this time.

When Beth’s phone rang, Mack stared at it. With her running late, it could be the hospital calling. It could be an emergency, and at least he could alert whoever was on the other end that Beth was on her way in. Did that outweigh whatever gossip might arise from having a man answer her phone? How would she see it?

With the phone still ringing insistently, he finally grabbed it. “Hello, Dr. Browning’s residence.”

His greeting was met with silence.

“Hello,” he prompted.

“Who the hell is this and why are you answering Beth’s phone?” a very possessive-sounding male voice demanded with open hostility.

Now there was a question that could lead down a path Mack didn’t want to travel, especially with some stranger who hadn’t even bothered identifying himself.

“I’m a friend of Dr. Browning’s,” he said cautiously. “She just left for the hospital. Can I take a message for her?”

His reply was greeted by another hesitation.

“Well?” Mack prodded.

“No. I’ll speak to her when she gets here,” the man said. “I intend to tell her I spoke to you.”

Mack grinned despite himself at the tattle-tale tenor of the warning. “You do that,” he said, then hung up.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether to be amused or worried by the threat. He’d know soon enough. His intention to avoid Beth had flown right out the window the instant he’d heard that trace of possessiveness in the caller’s voice. If some other man had the right to think of Beth as his, then what the devil had she been doing in Mack’s arms the night before? He wasn’t crazy about the streak of jealousy that had shot through him. He did know that since it was a first in his life, he had no intention of ignoring it.



Beth spent her first two hours at the hospital racing from one crisis to another. She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever get another minute to spend in her lab with the research that was so important to her. She was also having trouble staying focused, which wasn’t like her at all. When it came to medicine and her patients, she rarely allowed anything to distract her. Today, though, images of Mack and the way they’d parted this morning kept intruding.

At eleven-thirty she’d finally had enough of fighting the distraction. She needed a break. She needed caffeine. Caffeine and chocolate, she decided en route to the cafeteria. Maybe a lot of chocolate.

After loading up on candy bars and a large takeout coffee, she found a quiet table, spread her loot out on the table and debated about which chocolate to eat first. Snickers had nuts and caramel, but a chunk of plain old Hershey bar melting on her tongue had its own allure. Then there was the Kit Kat or the Peanut M&M’s or maybe the Milky Way.

“Boy, your diet really has taken a turn right off the nutritional charts, hasn’t it?” Jason commented, sliding into the chair opposite her.

Beth glared at the radiologist. “Keep your snide comments to yourself.”

“Tough morning?” he asked, then struggled with a grin as he added, “Or a tough night?”

She stared at him trying to gauge what on earth he knew or thought he knew. “If you have something on your mind, just spit it out. I’m in no mood for games.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Jason said, his grin spreading. “The chocolate’s a dead giveaway, especially before lunch. Usually you don’t have one of these attacks till around four, right after rounds.” He gestured toward the little pile of candy. “Even for you this is a bit over the top.”